They abandoned him upon the field of battle,
as though a solid weight were laid upon his shoulder;
Among men no equals have I ever seen—
surer of footing, truer of aim with the hand.

Al-Bukhārī relates: “Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAlāʾ told us; Abū Usāmah told us, from Burayd ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from Abū Burdah, from Abū Mūsā, who said:

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was finished with Ḥunayn he dispatched Abū ʿĀmir at the head of an army to Autās. There he encountered Durayd ibn al-Ṣimmah; Durayd was slain, and Allah put his forces to flight.

Abū Mūsā continues: The Prophet also sent me out with Abū ʿĀmir. Abū ʿĀmir was struck in the knee—one of the Jusham shot an arrow that lodged firmly in it. I reached him and asked, ‘Uncle, who wounded you?’ He pointed and said, ‘That man is my killer—the one who shot me.’

I set off after him and caught up with him. When he saw me he turned to flee, but I pursued him, calling, ‘Are you not ashamed? Will you not stand your ground?’ He stopped; we exchanged two sword-strokes and I killed him. Then I returned to Abū ʿĀmir and said, ‘Allah has slain your assailant.’

He said, ‘Pull out this arrow.’ I pulled it out and fluid gushed forth. Then he said, ‘Nephew, convey my greetings to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and ask him to seek forgiveness for me.’ He appointed me commander over the people; after a short while he died.

I returned and entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in his house. He was reclining on a bedstead of woven palm-leaf, whose cords had left marks on his back and sides. I informed him of what had happened, of Abū ʿĀmir’s death, and of his request: ‘Ask him to seek forgiveness for me.’

He called for water, performed ablution, raised his hands and prayed: ‘O Allah, forgive ʿUbayd Abū ʿĀmir.’ I could see the whiteness of his armpits. He then added: ‘O Allah, on the Day of Resurrection place him above many of Your creatures’—or he said, ‘above many of mankind.’

I said, ‘And me, O Messenger of Allah—pray for my forgiveness.’ He replied, ‘O Allah, forgive ʿAbd Allāh ibn Qays his sin, and grant him on the Day of Resurrection an honourable entrance.’

Abū Burdah remarked: One of these supplications was for Abū ʿĀmir, and the other for Abū Mūsā—may Allah be pleased with them both.

Muslim also transmitted the ḥadīth through Abū Kurayb Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAlāʾ and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Barrād, from Abū Usāmah, in similar wording.

Imām Aḥmad recorded: ‘ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us; Sufyān—meaning al-Thawrī—related to us, from ʿUthmān al-Battī, from Abū’l-Khalīl, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, who said:

We took captive some women at Autās who already had husbands, and we were reluctant to approach them because of their husbands. We asked the Prophet ﷺ, and the verse was revealed: “And married women are forbidden to you, except those whom your right hands possess” (al-Nisāʾ 4:24). Thereupon their private parts became lawful to us.’

Al-Tirmidhī and al-Nasāʾī likewise narrated it through ʿUthmān al-Battī, and Muslim placed it in his Ṣaḥīḥ through the isnād of Shuʿbah, from Qatādah, from Abū’l-Khalīl, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī.